Texas · TX
Texas purchase agreement deadlines: the TREC option period
Texas resales run on the TREC 20 promulgated form. Its structure is different from most states: the buyer buys an unrestricted termination right for a set number of days rather than holding an inspection contingency.
The standard form
One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC 20, published by Texas Real Estate Commission.
The one quirk coordinators miss
The option period is the whole ballgame. It runs in calendar days from the effective date, and once it ends the buyer's unrestricted right to terminate is gone even if inspections are not finished.
Common starting values
Texas common starting values, editable
These are common starting values, not law and not any specific contract. One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC 20 prints defaults the parties can strike and replace, and riders routinely override them. Contract10 only asserts a period when it read that period off the page of a contract you upload, everything below is an editable starting point, not an assertion about your deal.
| Deadline | Starting value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Closing | 30 calendar days | Days after acceptance, when the contract states a period instead of a date. |
| Earnest money due | 3 business days | Deposit delivered to escrow. |
| Inspection period ends | 7 calendar days | Last day to complete inspections. |
| Appraisal contingency ends | 17 calendar days | Last day to act on a low appraisal. |
| Loan approval / financing contingency ends | 21 calendar days | Last day for the buyer's financing contingency. |
| Title review ends | 10 calendar days | Last day to object to the title commitment. |
| Seller disclosures delivered | 7 calendar days | Seller delivers statutory and contractual disclosures. |
| Final walkthrough | 3 calendar days | Days BEFORE closing, counted backward. |
Edit these values in the free calculator, pre-loaded for Texas →
What the engine computes
Every deadline type Contract10 tracks
- 1Earnest money due. Deposit must be delivered to escrow.
- 2Seller disclosures delivered. Seller must deliver the statutory and contractual disclosures.
- 3Inspection period ends. Last day to complete inspections.
- 4Inspection objection due. Last day for the buyer to object or request repairs.
- 5Title review ends. Last day to object to items in the title commitment.
- 6Appraisal contingency ends. Last day to act on a low appraisal.
- 7Loan approval / financing contingency ends. Last day for the buyer's financing contingency.
- 8All contingencies removed. Deadline to remove remaining contingencies in writing.
- 9Final walkthrough. Buyer's final walkthrough before signing.
See the full checklist with roll rules and day-basis defaults on the closing checklist page.
FAQ
Texas deadline questions
When is the inspection contingency due in Texas?
There is no single legal answer, it is whatever the executed contract says. One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC 20 prints a default the parties can strike and replace; on most Texas resales it starts near 7 calendar days from the acceptance date, but the only number that matters is the one on your contract.
What standard form do Texas resales use?
One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC 20, published by Texas Real Estate Commission. Texas resales run on the TREC 20 promulgated form. Its structure is different from most states: the buyer buys an unrestricted termination right for a set number of days rather than holding an inspection contingency.
Do weekends count in real estate contract deadlines?
It depends on the contract's stated basis: calendar days count every day, business days skip weekends and holidays. When a computed deadline lands on a weekend or federal holiday, the engine rolls it forward to the next business day, except the final walkthrough, which rolls backward so it can't slip past closing.
What happens if you miss a contingency deadline?
Once a contingency period ends without the buyer acting (objecting, terminating, or removing it in writing, depending on the state's form), the right tied to that contingency is usually gone, and earnest money can be at risk from that moment. The exact consequence is written into the specific contract, not something Contract10 asserts on your behalf.
Other states
See another state's form and deadlines
Compute your real Texas deadlines
Type your actual dates into the calculator, or upload the executed contract for cited extraction.